Improvement in top-plates for cooking-stoves



, stove top plate.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

EDWARD a. WEHRLE, or PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMlROVEMENT IN TQP-PLATES FOR COOKING-STOVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 135,457, dated February 4, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD R. WEHRLE, ot'Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Stove-Plate5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of an improved cook- Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to an improvement 011 cook-stove tops, which are composed of several sections for the purpose of preventing them from crackin g in consequence of expansion and contraction. It consists in the combination of laterally and vertically holding lugs with underlappin g lugs, which are formed on the bottoms of the sections at the joints thereof, whereby the use of bolts and nuts, or screw-fastenings or rivets, are rendered unnecessary, as will be hereinafter explained.

The following description of my invention will enable others skilled in the art to understand it.

In the accompanying drawing, I have represented the top-plate of a cook stove, which is constructed of four pieces, A A A A litted together with straight joints. The piece A has the boiler and pipe holes through it, and this piece, together with the three pieces, A A and A and a bridge-plate form the pot-holes. These four plates are connected together by means of interlocking lugs, all of which are on the bottom of the stove-top, so that its upper surface does not present elevations. The plate A is constructed with two lugs, a a, and two lugs, 12 b, which underlap the plates A A on opposite sides of two lugs,

a a, which underlap the plate A, as shown in Fig. 2. Each one of the plates A has, in addition to the lugs 01/ a, two lugs, a b, which underlap the plate A on opposite sides of a lug, a, which is formed on each end of this plate A The lugs to have slots in their upper edges into which fit bosses which are formed on the plates under which the lugs to extend. This prevents the undue spreading apart of the plates at their joints, although it does not prevent the expansion of the plates separately or together. The plates are held down upon the side plates of the stove by means of bolts in the usual wellkuown manner.

It will be seen from the above description that expansion and contraction of the stovetop will not be liable to crack it even where the heat is most intense, and where it is exposed to sudden changes of temperature.

I am aware that it is not new to construct the tops of cook-stoves of several sections, for the purpose of preventing cracking of the tops, and therefore I make no claim covering this feature.

My object is to make a stovetop of a number of sections connected together by interlocking lugs, so as to prevent the plates from cracking and springing or warping at those points where theyare theweakest.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Paent, is-

The transversely-slotted or hooked lugs a, the laterally-holding lugs a, and the underlapping lugs b b, combined and formed at the joints of a cook-stove top, which is formed of several sections, as herein set forth.

EDWARD R. WEHRLE.

Witnesses:

S. SMITH, EUGENE B. SMITH. 

